Our long trip back to reason

It has been over a month since enough votes were counted after the November 3rd General Election to declare a Presidential winner of the Electoral College vote. Despite incessantly repeated cries of “FOUL” by the runner-up and his water carriers, there has been no credible evidence produced to substantiate any of their claims of voter or election fraud. Enough about the lame duck incumbent. Despite all the racket made by his public self-pity party, transition to a new administration is underway and is providing a soothing outlook for an ailing nation. When that crazy train pulled out of Normaltown four years ago bound for undesirable points unknown, so many of us yearned for the time we would turn around and head back to it. That time has arrived!

Even though our two-party electoral system forced upon us voters a binary choice, it was in fact the right choice which prevailed. Although there are many on the political left who are not enamored by the prospect of a President Biden administration to the point of holding their nose and marking their ballot, they need to consider how they would be feeling had the incumbent been reelected. That said, having a vision for where the President-elect wants to take the nation is one thing, actually getting us there will involve overcoming several obstacles, not the least of which is getting control of a badly mismanaged pandemic. One hundred days of mask-wearing is not too much to ask, given the dearth of hospital space nationwide. The minimum standard we should demand from any career public servant is a functional government. No more “acting” department heads. No more edict by tweet. No more bald faced nepotism. No more abuse of established norms and institutions. No more brazen disregard for the rule of law. It will be nice to see the Cabinet and all federal agencies to have actual appointed and confirmed secretaries and directors. It will also be nice to have less dysfunction in our dealings with our traditional allies. Regardless of what other road blocks the incumbent may place in the way of a smooth transition of power, all of that will come to an end at 12:01 PM, January 20th, 2021. That will be the official time and date stamp on our return to reason.

The two special elections for U.S. Senate in the State of Georgia aside, Campaign 2020 is over for all intents and purposes. Make no mistake, the Georgia Senate elections have much riding on them in terms of control of the World’s most deliberative body, but with regard to sustained campaigning the rest of us are worthy of and are due for a well deserved rest. Probably the greatest downside to the American electoral system which stands head and shoulders above all else is the non-stop exhausting nature of it. The brutal reality is that the election cycle never really stops. It may have its slow periods, but it never comes to a complete standstill. Many of us have been deeply immersed in the process of electing legislators and public officials who stood for policies aimed at opposing the poorly thought out and costly ones instituted by the outgoing President and his administration along with red state governors and legislatures who so willingly followed his lead. In spite of the stranglehold the Republicans have on so many state governments, at very least there is a pervasive sense of relief throughout the nation that better times are ahead. We have all who donated their time, money, sweat and shoe leather to thank for the forthcoming Joe Biden Presidency. As many of you regular readers may know, Yours Truly was an actual candidate for state senate this past cycle. After losing my primary on June 30th, I quietly folded my tent and got out of the way. At the state level, the Oklahoma Democratic Party took yet another awful beating. The one bright spot for the OK Dems was the the victory of the winner of my primary, flipping the control of this state senate seat from red to blue. I realize that is not much, but we red state Dems have to celebrate success when it happens. I decided to celebrate so much, having invested so much time, money and sweat into such an endeavor that I went on a sabbatical from politics the morning of the the November 3rd General Election.

It has been a long, strange and too often a frightening trip on that crazy train that departed from the place of established and respected norms and competent governance four years ago. After such a long sojourn in the wilderness of non-conventional leadership, it is enough for most of us that the American ship of state has finally come about. Despite all the vindictive obstructionism, the ubiquitous feeling that America is on the way back makes it all much less daunting. Indeed, all the well-wishes from so many foreign heads of state heralding “Welcome back America” underscored the sentiment that our collective national lapse of reason was much closer to being history. The concept of American exceptionalism at its core highlights the absolute best and the absolute worst of humanity’s offering. In the coming months this contrast will likely never be more stark. I will be proud to hold fast to the essence of the old saying, “My country right or wrong. When right, to be kept right. When not right, to be put right!” We may all rest easy now. We as a nation have taken that first action to chart the course back to reason.